Healthcare costs in women with metastatic breast cancer receiving chemotherapy as their principal treatment modality.

BACKGROUND: The economic costs of treating patients with metastatic breast cancer have been examined in several studies, but available estimates of economic burden are at least a decade old. In this study, we characterize healthcare utilization and costs in the US among women with metastatic breast cancer receiving chemotherapy as their principal treatment modality. METHODS: Using a large private health insurance claims database (2000-2006), we identified all women initiating chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer with no evidence of receipt of concomitant or subsequent hormonal therapy, or receipt of trastuzumab at anytime. Healthcare utilization and costs (inpatient, outpatient, medication) were estimated on a cumulative basis from date of chemotherapy initiation ("index date") to date of disenrollment from the health plan or the end of the study period, whichever occurred first. Study measures were cumulated over time using the Kaplan-Meier Sample Average (KMSA) method; 95% CIs were generated using nonparametric bootstrapping. Findings also were examined among the subgroup of patients with uncensored data. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 1444 women; mean (SD) age was 59.1 (12.1) years. Over a mean follow-up of 532 days (range: 3 to 2412), study subjects averaged 1.7 hospital admissions, 10.7 inpatient days, and 83.6 physician office and hospital outpatient visits. Mean (95% CI) cumulative total healthcare costs were $128,556 ($118,409, $137,644) per patient. Outpatient services accounted for 29% of total costs, followed by medication other than chemotherapy (26%), chemotherapy (25%), and inpatient care (20%). CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare costs-especially in the outpatient setting--are substantial among women with metastatic breast cancer for whom treatment options other than chemotherapy are limited.

Diabetes care and language discordance among Chinese and Latino primary care patients.

OBJECTIVES: To assess differences in diabetes processes of care among Chinese and Latino patients across medical interpreting methods. DESIGN AND SETTING: This is a nested cohort study of patients with diabetes, comparing interpreting methods and their impact on medical outcomes at the primary care clinic of a New York City municipal hospital. PARTICIPANTS: 54 Spanish and Chinese-speaking language discordant diabetic patients were enrolled and followed for one year. INTERVENTION: Language discordant patients received either Remote Simultaneous Medical Interpreting (RSMI), or usual and customary (U&C) interpreting. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Composite medical care scores were calculated for physician ordering and patient completion of diabetes care measures. RESULTS: RSMI patients, compared with U&C patients, had trends towards higher mean patient completion (.29 vs .25) and physician ordering (.41 vs .37) scores. Overall rates of completion of diabetes care measures in both groups were very low. CONCLUSIONS: Overall rates of physician ordering and patient completion of diabetes care measures were distressingly low in our study. Further studies are needed to explore the potential role of RSMI in addressing the language barrier and improving diabetes care for Chinese- and Spanish-speaking patients.

Self-reported and actual beta-blocker prescribing for heart failure patients: physician predictors.

BACKGROUND: Beta-blockers reduce mortality among patients with systolic heart failure (HF), yet primary care provider prescription rates remain low. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between primary care physician characteristics and both self-reported and actual prescription of beta-blockers among patients with systolic HF. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey with supplementary retrospective chart review. PARTICIPANTS: Primary care providers at three New York City Veterans Affairs medical centers. MEASUREMENTS: MAIN OUTCOMES WERE: 1) self-reported prescribing of beta-blockers, and 2) actual prescribing of beta-blockers among HF patients. Physician HF practice patterns and confidence levels, as well as socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, were also assessed. RESULTS: Sixty-nine of 101 physicians (68%) completed the survey examining self-reported prescribing of beta-blockers. Physicians who served as inpatient ward attendings self-reported significantly higher rates of beta-blocker prescribing among their HF patients when compared with physicians who did not attend (78% vs. 58%; p = 0.002), as did physicians who were very confident in managing HF patients when compared with physicians who were not (82% vs. 68%; p = 0.009). Fifty-one of these 69 surveyed physicians (74%) were successfully matched to 287 HF patients for whom beta-blocker prescribing data was available. Physicians with greater self-reported rates of prescribing beta-blockers were significantly more likely to actually prescribe beta-blockers (p = 0.02); however, no other physician characteristics were significantly associated with actual prescribing of beta-blockers among HF patients. CONCLUSIONS: Physician teaching responsibilities and confidence levels were associated with self-reported beta-blocker prescribing among their HF patients. Educational efforts focused on improving confidence levels in HF care and increasing exposure to teaching may improve beta-blocker presciption in HF patients managed in primary care.

Housing insecurity and lack of public assistance are risk factors for tuberculin skin test conversion among persons who use illicit drugs in New York City.

BACKGROUND: Persons who use illicit drugs are at increased risk of new tuberculosis (TB) infection. We conducted a prospective cohort study to assess rates and risk factors for tuberculin skin test (TST) conversion among persons with a history of illicit drug use, who were enrolled in a methadone program and had a negative baseline 2-step TST (eligible participants). METHODS: TST and standardized interviews were administered to 401 eligible participants from 1995 through 1999, every 6 months for a 2-year follow-up time. Analyses were conducted in 2006. RESULTS: A total of 1,447 repeat TSTs were performed during 843 person-years of follow-up (median: 2.0 years). The TST conversion rate was 3.7 per 100 person-years. In multivariate analysis, participants who converted were more likely to report ever having been homeless (HR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.2-5.0) or ever having lived in a homeless shelter (HR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.2-4.9) at the baseline interview, and less likely to have reported receiving public assistance since the last study visit (RR, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.07-0.32). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study utilizing 2-step TST at baseline to measure the incidence of TST conversion among persons who use illicit drugs. Controlling for homelessness, persons with a lack of current public assistance was identified as a risk factor for TST conversion. These individuals may most benefit from annual tuberculin skin testing.